Australian Wood Review December 2018

AWR Studio Furniture 2018, an exhibition of work by 65 makers, opened at Bungendore Wood Works Gallery on October 20. In a fine furniture making world perfection is very subjective. Truly perfect work might be more akin to ‘plastic’, and then just a story of repetition well executed. The discernible differences and even so-called imperfections of things that are individually designed and made is where the meaning of studio furniture lies. People who spend their lives expressing themselves by crafting things of their own design are unique individuals, more so than many others. Without glorifying it too much, it’s not easy. Self doubting one’s own aesthetic, skills and acceptance can happen on a daily basis. Living off a craft means being judged by buyers and critics and valued in terms of discretionary spending…

Made in Austria, the Hammer planer/thicknesser comes in 410 and 310mm widths, but this review looks at the 310mm wide model. Three phase is standard but a no cost extra is the single phase with an impressive 4hp motor. Apparently Hammer and Felder machinery are made on the same production line and there are to my eye many similarities in design and build. The body of the machine is strong and refined, and machining of table surfaces is clean and accurate. At a weight of 290kg this is not a toy. The overall finish and detailing is excellent. Controls are good, although the handwheel for the thicknesser seems a tad light duty. Planing height adjustment is via a simple lever. The Hammer is available with straight cutters, or as reviewed here, with the proprietary…

HNT Gordon, wooden planemakers, now produce vices. A bench vice was released some time ago and more recently a patternmakers vice. The patternmakers vice is attached to the top front edge of the bench by a sturdy hinge allowing it to pivot through 90° with the jaws moving from vertical to horizontal. A pivoting arm, sliding through a locking mechanism attached to the underside of the bench, fixes it in any position along the way. Another locking system allows the operating heart of the patternmakers vice – the front and rear jaws, and the screw thread – to rotate through a complete 360° turn. Again, it can be locked at any point along the way. Both functions can be used at the same time, giving enormous flexibility in holding odd shapes of…

Carbatec’s new cabinet saws are on the money. Trialling one at their Brisbane testing workshop it was apparent this new range has had a lot of research and development invested into it. Over the same basic cabinet, table, arbor and trunnion structure, there are four separate options to choose from. With a 30" rail and Beisemeier fence the machine sells for $2299; with a 50" rail and hi-low rip fence $2459. Of course with an additional investment there is nothing stopping the user from having both fences, affording maximum flexibility in terms of ripping and jigging operations. The saw runs on a single-phase, 2.5hp motor which can be run from a standard 10 amp general power outlet, yet still offers plenty of power for most types of cuts. Power is transferred via a…

Bridge City Tools have a name for high quality, cool looking tools. This mini block plane is made of mostly aluminium with steel screws and knobs. It’s very small at a tad over 4" long, and beautifully made with crisp CNC machining of components. The cap screw pivots on a small aluminium button that sticks to the iron with an embedded magnet, a very nice touch. This is a low angle plane with a 12° bed so it’s always going to work best on endgrain; long grain planing quality will depend on how the straight the wood is. The blade is 26mm wide and 2.5mm thick and was flat on the back out of the box. The factory grind is at 25° with a micro bevel at 30°. The blade was not…

Tough and Sturdy The X8-PLUS 200mm Industrial Bench Grinder with 915 x 50mm linisher and mitre table has a full cast iron body and base. There are four rubber feet to help eliminate vibration and allow the machine to run smoothly. This versatile machine has a 0.75kw, 1hp, 240 volt motor with sufficient power to drive both the grinder wheel and belt linisher simultaneously. The grinder wheel comes fitted with safety eye shields and toolrests which are fully adjustable to suit every application and operator. The linishing attachment is perfect for fabricators. Uses include basic tube notching, cleaning up welds, removing scale from steel, as well as quickly and cleanly removing burrs from freshly cut steel. www.machineryhouse.com.au Space Solution MiniMax Genius, Classic and Elite combination machines aim to provide a machining workshop in a…